Why would you shoot film in 2022? Digital cameras are so easily available, phones have great cameras on. So why would you choose to shoot film? 

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Me and Gina are both big fans of film photography and over the years have built quite a collection of film cameras. I’ve always enjoyed taking photos but when I decided to get into it more seriously, I was a bit lost in where to start. I decided to pick up a 35mm film camera and start there. 

I picked up my first 35mm camera, an Olympus OM10 with a 50mm F1.4 and a telephoto lens, for £50. To break it down a little more, I bought a full frame camera with a high quality 50mm lens for £50! The equivalent set up in digital is most likely going to be in the high hundreds for the same quality setup. So that’s the first reason. The quality of camera you can get for a low price is much higher. 

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My Olympus is all manual. This can be a little daunting for some people but trust me in the long run this is a great thing. It forced me to learn and understand manual settings on a camera. Once you learn this you can easily apply it to a digital camera and leave the auto settings behind from the first time you pick up a digital camera. 

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Film is limiting on the number of photos you can take. 35mm films come in 24 or 36 exposures so you have a cap on the number of photos you can take. This forced me to think about my photos before taking them. It so easy to overshoot on digital. Film really helps you slow down and consider all the elements of your photo and your camera settings. 

For me the ‘film’ look is how I like my photographs to look. The colours and textures of film are beautiful in my opinion. That’s why a lot of our work is heavily inspired by film photos. So, if you are shooting on film to begin with you don’t need to also learn how to edit your photos straight away. This is a whole other learning curve for anyone new to photography. Different film stocks will give different colours. Over/under exposing your photos will affect the overall look. This is all done when you take the photo so you can experiment with no computer editing needed. 

One last thing…. It’s fun. I find the process of shooting film very enjoyable. Everything is very hands on. You load in the film. You have to wind it on, rewind at the end of the roll. The waiting time to see your photos once they’ve been developed is leaves you excited to see them. It’s a very enjoyable experience and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in photography. 

We are no experts in film photography but are always happy to answer questions if anyone is looking to try film photography or just wants to chat more about it, head over to our Instagram, @ivyandpinephotography, and drop us a message! 

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Why would you shoot film when digital is easier ...

Why Shoot Film in 2022?

Me and Jack took a trip to Brean down in February – BOY was it cold. We do love it here though, it’s one of the closest beaches to us. Plus I used to come here as a kid with my parents. I love the photograph below... Me and Jack are affectionate people so we are often giving eachother cuddles and kisses. 

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Have some useless information about Brean if you like – if you read most of my blogs posts you’ll know I love waffling on about history. I mean , we live in an old country what do you expect, I am going to be a bit nerdy about stuff like that. The earliest signs of life on Brean Down date back to 10,000 BC. What the F. That is a lonnng time ago - Evidence of extinct creatures such as mammoths and woolly rhinos have also been found here. So people have been living, farming and fighting on the down since the Stone Age. Bloody hell!

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The cliff wall behind us is the huge, gert, massive cliff you walk up when you get there to visit the fort. The fort was built to defend the country against Napoleonic invasion. It’s a ruin now, but you can still wander around the buildings which is pretty cool. The walk up the steps is not for the faint hearted though – it’s a very steep walk up but it’s totally worth it. 

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You know I said I used to come here as a kid with my parents? Well I’m going to treat you to some hilarious point and shoot photographs my Dad took of Me and my Sister at Brean Down. Again it was COLD. So I look miserable ha-ha. These photos are some of my Dads favourites, he always speaks to me about how cold we both were when he was trying to take the photograph - I’m so glad he did though, it’s one of my favourites too. We went to the beach because my Mum was in hospital. He always laughs about my bottom lip. I used to stick out when I was sad (as you can see below, yes - I sometimes still do this) 

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Talking of point and shoots, Jack took a film camera we were given to test out some photos. The results were really good (some crap photos obviously we are getting used to the camera) but the majority were great. Here’s some from our Brean beach session. 

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20 plus years on, I was still bloody cold -  but I managed to hide it for a photo. How time flies.

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Oldbury court has always held a special place in my heart, I used to go there a lot as a kid with my grandad. So every time a couple suggests having their session there, I love it! if you haven’t been there, go - its lovely. Jaimie and Liam have recently got engaged (woohoo) exciting stuff. They have been together for around 5 years now, Liam popped the question in the cutest way, it really reflected their relationship and was so special to them both (10 points for Liam) 

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 Jaimie and Liam used to live close to Oldbury Court which is why this place is so special to them. Oldbury Court Estate is a park in Fishponds, you wouldn’t even think it was there. It’s hidden behind some small streets. I’ve heard Oldbury Court called many things, Vassalls park, Snuff Mills. They are all right. Its sometimes called Vassalls park because The Vassall family held the estate until 1936 and with no male heir, the last descendent of the Vassall family sold the estate to Bristol Corporation (today Bristol City Council). Snuff Mills is at the other end of Oldbury Court – it’s a park in the Stapleton area of north Bristol, also known as Whitwood Mill. Lots and lots of different names, enough with the history lesson… Sorry I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to the history of places, I’m the person that will stop and read every plaque we walk past on days out. The photo you see below is near the Oldbury court entrance, just when you come out of the car park to the right. 

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So, do you want to know how Liam proposed? Of course you do. Liam and Jaimie have this special gift giving thing they do. They always do it in bed, the gift receiver has their eyes closed and then they receive said gift from the gift giver. So Jaimie was all comfy in her PJS after a day at work, and was surprised that actually - this was your ordinary gift giving – it was a proposal. 

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Now I thought that this was bloody amazing – it couldn’t of been more perfect for them both. It goes to show you don’t need a yacht, rose petals, fireworks and champagne. I mean if that’s what you want to do, you do you boo. But personally, I think Liam nailed it. 

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Jaimie & Liam

Our first wedding of 2022, a lovely way to start them off - spending it in our home town, in the centre of Bristol. This lovely venue sits loud and proud in the middle of Bristol’s historic Corn Street, occupying the city’s former Lloyds and Midland Bank locations. 

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Next time you walk down corn street to have a nosey at St. Nicks Market, take a look up at the buildings, Bristol Harbour Hotel and Spa is right in the midst of it. Its a 19th century property, in other words it's old and super pretty. Louise and Billy had their ceremony the vault, located on the lower floor of the venue. 

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Once the ceremony was over, we captured some lovely portraits of Louise and Billy in the Blue Room. It's cosy, intimate and the lighting in there is just amazing! Apparently, once upon a time it was the Bank Manager’s office - dating back to 1854 (Bristol is super old, huh?) We had to squeeze some of the guests in a little, but it was SO worth the photographs. Dont they just look amazing? 

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There is a lovely little spot just by the side entrance to the hotel, where there is a staircase. This was a perfect location to take some more photographs of Louise and Billy. So we whisked them away for 5 minutes to take these portraits of them. 

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Louise and Billy

Ben and Claudia have known Jack for a long while now. They know each other through friends and music, jack knows a lot of people through music..  Recently Ben and Claudia have added a fourth member to their little family, Ziggy (isn't he just ADORABLE)

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Now we can't forget the furry member of the family, Harvey. He's cute too. Again, this session was at Ashton court, if you recognise some of the scenery from Theo and Flo's shoot (told you we like it here) 

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This was one of our mini sessions that we offer. Only 30 mins which can be good for dogs and small babes as we all know how unpredictable they can be! They say to never work with children or animals but we've chosen both,  and love it! So bring on the tears and dog treats.. not necessarily in that order.

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The location from this engagement session is one of our favourites so far. Castle combe is SO beautiful. Meg and Jack have a special connection with this place as they got engaged here. (on the very bridge you see below actually)  

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We walked to the bridge where Jack proposed to get some important shots of where he got down on one knee. They are getting married in May this year, which is so exciting! Me and jack are so happy we got to be a small part of their journey. 

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If you havent visited Castle combe, its beautiful. Its been used in a lot of films, and is named the prettiest village in England. The village sits in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north west Wiltshire. It's worth a visit, especially nice for dogs, we saw tonnes.

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Meg & Jack

One of our favourite places to travel in our van is Snowdonia, Wales. If you have never been we can highly recommend it.

We have had some amazing experiences from our trips there, camping in the mountains, wild swimming in lakes and freezing cold waterfalls, beautiful drives and walks, the list goes on. 

With such stunning scenery all around you travelling is often interrupted with regular photo stops. 

It’s a place we have visited a few times now and still feel like we have so much more to see.

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Theo was an absolute joy to photograph, he was very comfortable in front of the camera and had so many ideas. It was a pleasure! You can come back any time Theo. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

This session is from Ashton court, if your from Bristol most people.will know where this is! Ashton Court Estate was the  home of the Smyth family, and is now a historic park 10 minutes from the centre of Bristol. It covers 850 acres of woods and grasslands in total (so its huge)

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Its a real nice location for dog walks, especially for little Flo here. Flo is the families first dog so she is a special one. She was so well behaved and gave Gina some cuddles at the end of the session, so everyone left happy. 

We love Ashton Court. It's a favourite location for family sessions as its easy to get to and in central Bristol. You can get several different looks from shooting here as the scenery changes so much throughout the walk around the park. 

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Theo & Flo 

Jack knows Cam from the music scene and on our recent trip to Edinburgh, we all met up for some food and had a lovely evening catching up.

Cams a photographer himself and Freya is a tattoo artist (she’s recently got her license, everybody say congrats!!) 

We met up with them in Bath to have another catch up last week and it was lovely. They are both gems. 

We really love the colour combination in this set of photographs. Sometimes we spend too much of our time in the forests, not that it’s a bad thing… but seeing a little less green in our photographs is really refreshing. 

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We spent the day walking around Baths Hight street and went in to this amazing bookstore, called Topping & Company Booksellers of Bath (small sigh a glee). It's beautiful to say the least. To top it off you can take your dog in there, Rudy got lots of treats and lots of tickles.

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Cam & Freya

Roger went a very long time being called ‘Pamp’ by his grandchildren, always secretly wanting to be called Grandpa. 

After another generation of children he’s finally got the name Grandpa. He may of had to wait thirty years or so but he got there in the end. 

“Grandpas have ears that truly listen, arms that always hold, love that's never-ending, and a heart that's made of gold”

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Rogers 80th

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This was shot on our Fujifilm XT-3, with a 35mm, F1.4. & Black mist filter, hence the dreamy glow around the lights. 

The portraits of Ren in the arcade are beautiful. The colours, the reflection on glass, the lights, and her lovely face too. 

There’s something about arcades that bring back that childhood nostalgia. The smell of the donuts, a chip butty, the sound of seagulls and people laughing. No one’s sad in an arcade… unless your a young child (or adult me) coming out of the ghost train. 

My favourite is the 2p machines & Jacks favourite is air hockey. To Jacks disappointment I've actually gotten really good at air hockey and have beat him the last two times we've played.

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If you are local to Bristol or know it, you probably know which seaside town i'm talking about, this is The Grand Pier at Weston-super-mare. I spent a lot of my youth having days out here at the seaside and this was the first beach Rudy ever laid his little four paws on. 

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